Traditionally, golf has been played as a game that emphasizes the skills of the individual player, and their ability to complete a hole in as few shots as possible. Because golf is and individual sport, a player has traditionally been required to possess a broad range of skills for various types of shots, such as driving the ball, hitting the ball in the rough or sand trap, hitting the ball on the fairway, chipping, and putting. Furthermore, the player has been charged with ultimately determining their game's strategy, such as club selection, ball spin, and shot strategy (i.e. whether to try and shoot directly for the green, risking an overshot, or attempting to lay up and chip onto the green).
The individualistic nature of golf has been criticized as being boring and uninteresting, since the pace of the game is generally slow and if a certain player is off, they usually do not stand a chance at winning. The aforementioned issues may be extended to golf video games as well.